'I was suffering from chemically-induced psychosis and dementia': Fergie reveals the effects of her devastating addiction to crystal meth... as she reflects on her split from husband Josh Duhamel

She spawned a number of smash hits while she vocally led hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas, as well as throughout her solo career.

But during Fergie's humble beginnings, the 42-year-old suffered from symptoms of psychosis and dementia due to her drug addiction to methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth.

In an interview with i newspaper, the American artist gave a candid insight into her dependency struggles and life after separation from husband Josh Duhamel.

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Former drug addict: During Fergie's humble beginnings, the 42-year-old suffered from symptoms of psychosis and dementia due to her drug addiction to methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth

Fergie - real name Stacey Ann Ferguson - went into specific detail about the after effects of the strong stimulant: 'At my lowest point, I was [suffering from] chemically-induced psychosis and dementia.'

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She continued: 'I was basically hallucinating on a daily basis. It took a year after getting off that particular drug for the chemicals in my brain to settle so that I actually stopped seeing things.'

Reflecting on the intense consequences of the drug, the California native said: 'I'd just be sitting there, seeing a random bee or a bunny.'

Before: Fergie developed her addiction while in girl group Wild Orchid, which followed her after she left the group in 2001

'The drugs thing, it was a hell of a lot of fun… until it wasn't. But you know what, I thank the day it happened to me. Because that's my strength, my faith, my hope for something better.'

The mother-of-one announced her split from husband Josh Duhamel after an eight-year marriage in September.

Speaking about the difficulty of juggling work and separation struggles, she expressed: 'I've just released my first solo album in 11 years, and I'm out promoting it. So there's really a lot going on. That's why we wanted to find our footing with our separation before we announced it publicly: to make sure we really got it together for our kid.'

Former lovers: The mother-of-one announced her split from husband Josh Duhamel after an eight-year marriage in September

She went on to give her appreciation to modern technology in maintaining a healthy relationship: 'Thank the Lord for FaceTime! Because both Josh and I are working full-time right now. If you're a full-time working parent, you’ll know what we're experiencing.

'It gets tough and we get tired, but we're trying our hardest to make sure that kid feels nothing around him but love.'

The full interview appears in this Friday’s issue of the i newspaper, out in the UK on Friday.

Back in the day: She recently hit back at claims that she's left the Black Eyed Peas - insisting that she'd relish the opportunity to record another album with her old bandmates

She recently hit back at claims that she's left the Black Eyed Peas - insisting that she'd relish the opportunity to record another album with her old bandmates.

She said: 'I've never left The Black Eyed Peas. We've never broken up officially, I guess we're just on a break. We're family. They're like my work family. That's forever.

'Honestly, I would have loved to be able to do my album in one tenth of the time, do a Black Eyed Peas album in that same time, tour both, have another child. There's just not enough hours in the day.'

The blonde beauty, who released her second solo studio album, Double Dutchess, in September is now focused on creating a music video for every single on the compilation, which she called a 'labour of love'.